Thursday, February 9, 2006 Priest captured in Colombia on warrant in Michigan sex cases
The Associated Press
BAY CITY, Mich.— A Catholic priest sought by authorities for more than seven years in several child sex cases was captured in Colombia and will be returned to Michigan to face trial, authorities said.
John Steven Rabideau, 44, was arrested last week as he tried to enter Ecuador. He is being held in Dade County, Fla., and will be tried on charges that he had sexual contact with three boys between the ages of 6 and 14 in Bay County's Williams Township in 1985 and 1987, said Bay County Prosecutor Joseph K. Sheeran.
The youths, who are now adults, reported the incidents in 1998, Sheeran said.
Rabideau, reached at the Florida jail, declined comment on the charges. "I probably shouldn't talk to you until I talk to a lawyer," he told The Associated Press on Thursday before the phone line went dead.
Sheeran said Rabideau will face one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison. He also will face six counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct, which involves touching. Each second-degree charge has a maximum penalty of 15 years.
"We're very proud of them for coming forward," Sheeran told The Bay City Times. "They were very young when these crimes took place."
Rabideau was studying to become a priest in Boston and visiting relatives in Williams Township at the time of the reported offenses. Sheeran said U.S. Marshals will bring Rabideau to Bay County next week.
After an investigation, authorities issued a warrant for Rabideau's arrest in 1998. Rabideau has been considered a fugitive since that time.
Rabideau's status as a priest wasn't known, Sheeran said. He had been active as a priest in 2004 in the Philippines, Sheeran said.
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